The present invention relates to radio frequency (RF) devices and methods of communication between radio frequency devices, and more specifically to a system and method of assigning an electronic serial number to a radio frequency device.
Unique electronic serial numbers must often be assigned to newly manufactured RF devices. Unique addresses facilitate communication with individual RF devices.
One type of RF device may be an electronic price label (EPL). EPL systems typically include a plurality of EPLs for each merchandise item in a store. EPLs transmit acknowledgment signals acknowledging receipt of messages and relay acknowledgment signals from other EPLs to receiving devices coupled to a main EPL computer. EPLs typically display the price of corresponding merchandise items on store shelves and are typically attached to a rail along the leading edge of the shelves. A store may contain thousands of EPLs to display the prices of the merchandise items. The EPLs are coupled to a central server from where information about the EPLs is typically maintained in an EPL data file. Price information displayed by the EPLs is obtained from the PLU file.
Assigning addresses to a group of EPLs is difficult. Since all newly manufactured EPLs are identical, there is no way to individually program them without isolating one from the others. The traditional method involves isolating a single EPL and transmitter inside a shielded enclosure. The single EPL is programmed, and the procedure is repeated for each and every EPL. This method is too time-consuming and costly.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method of assigning an electronic serial number to an RF device, such as an EPL, which requires minimal isolation.